Shopping malls
Large western style shopping malls are new to Kochi and more than 30 are under construction in various parts of city, all scheduled to open between first quarter of 2010 and the end of 2013. Currently only two are functional. Apart from shopping malls, there are numerous of shopping complexes in Cochin a shopping complex in local terms is a large complex having many shops close to each other, selling mostly only one type of product.
Oberon Mall
Nr padivattom signal junction-nh bypass road). the first large scale multi-format shopping mall in a western style. a typical mall, having a wide range of branded stores, a large hypermarket, an anchor store of reliance trends multi brand apparel store, a book/stationery store, spa, beauty saloon, a large food court, a four screen multiplex and lots of entertainment options like horror house, mirror maze and a cricket bowling center.
Grande Gold Souk
Vyittila junction. one of the largest malls in south india, this is the only mall having wedding as theme, with more than 150 stores selling various jewellery brands and branded/unbranded apparel. the mall has a large boweling alley, sports bar, gaming zone, a luxurious multiplex and good food court.
Bookshops
Kurien's Tower
Has many good book stores within it. Some of the popular are Book-Port +91 484 2397129, +91 97 4640 1310 (http://www.bookport.in/)), Hamlet, â +91 484 2395389) and very large multi-lingual store of DC Books.
Cosmetics
Apparel and fabric
Seematti
North end, mg road. one of the posher silk and dress fashion centres and a trend setter in creating unique designs and special materials for its sarees. its owner - beena kannan - is a leading fashion designer and new designs come every six months. most of its sarees are out-of-traditional kind, making its unique. it is comparatively more costly than other brands. the men's area is not so elaborate and has only few collections.
Kochi also has many famous designer boutiques, mostly located in Convent Junction between MG Road and Marine Drive. Panampally Nagar also houses many premium exclusive designer boutiques. MG Road the arterial road is lined with many premium brand stores, leading apparel shops and boutiques. The cloth bazaar in Broadway Market is one of the largest apparel market selling unbranded fabrics and apparels at lower rates. For dress and fabrics the best options are:
Village Shop
Behind sony center, ravipuram, mg road, +91 484 3078472, +91 484 2361717 e-mail: [email protected]. village shop is a home furnishing store in kochi. they sell innovative and designer handloomed soft furnishings for all rooms of a home.
Footwear and luggage
Banks, atms and changing money
Almost all national banks operate in Kochi and most have branches in MG Road, as do a few international banks such as HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered and Oman Bank. ATMs are uniformly spread across the city and most major shopping places have an adjacent ATM.
Most of the nationalized banks are authorised to carry out Forex activities. Western Union and Moneygram have many franchises in the city.
Supermarkets
Reliance
Has many branches in kochi, in 2 formats, fresh offers a wide range of fresh vegetables and fruits with limited other grocery items, super large supermarket, offering groceries and vegetables/fruits. reliance is a pure vegetarian supermarket chain but outside the supermarket, they operate a small store called delite that offers non-vegetarian items, including fresh meat.
Jewellery
Kochi is famous for its gold, silver, diamond and platinum jewelry. Most of the jewellers are concentrated at Jewel Junction Woodland Junction, on MG Road near Hotel Woodlands. Normal gold purity in India is 22 carat. 24 carat gold ornaments thankam are not so popular, but are available. Lightweight collections in 18 carat gold have become popular among youngsters and teenagers.
Day-shopping is more popular than night shopping. All shopping outlets close by 8PM. During festive seasons, late night shopping 11PM-3:30AM are organized to reduce day-time shopping congestion.
The Onam Festival mid of Aug-Sept is one of the best shopping seasons, when you get heavy discounts ranging between 10-50% for almost all items as well as regular consumer fairs. X'mas is the next best season. The Kerala Government has started the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival 15 Dec-30 Jan, to promote Kerala as a shopping destination. Kochi is the main focal center of this festival and you get heavy discounts at participating stores and regular lucky draws.
electronics
You can buy electronic gadgets at comparatively low rates, than most of other regions in India. For the latest technology, Kochi hosts many large consumer electronics fairs and every new technology gadget gets into store very fast. The Electronics Street opposite Medical Trust Hospital in Pallimukku and Kadavanthara are the prefect place to buy most of electronics gadegets. Penta Menaka and GCDA Mall are famous for mobile phones. Atlantis Junction and Ravipuram are well known for various computer/laptop hardware shopping.
markets
The narrow strip sandwiched between Marine Drive and MG Road houses the celebrated Broadway Market which is one of the Kochi's oldest shopping corners where you can buy anything from from safety pins to motor scooters. A spice market operates inside, offering the best of Kerala's spices, saffron and various oils. There is also a cloth market, a jewellery market, a fancy items market, a vegetable/fruit market and an electronic/watch market. Also try at Mattencherry Old Spice market, which is one of the oldest spice markets in the country. There are nearly half dozen small markets, mostly run by Gujarathi and Konakanis where you can slice of Indian market flavours.
antiques/art works
Jew town in Fort Cochin has numerous antique and craft stores. Most of the antique shops sell colonial era and heritage pieces, as well as Jewish items from the traditional Jewish homes of the area. You can also find many kinds of Indian sculptures, decor, interior artifacts and souvenirs. Bargains are available but be warned that many 'antiques' were probably made in the owners backyard. Shop with care and bargain hard. Never trust touts, who get hefty commissions from unscrupulous antique dealers.